A manifesto for every future video game. Now we've seen what can be done when truly brilliant people get to make a world brimming with variety, music, humour and sheer scale, very few other games are going to be able to live up to it. [PSW]

There are many excellent games on the DS but few masterpieces. This one, though, is a masterpiece. And worth every penny you'll pay for it. [JPN Import]

It's the biggest Zelda game ever without a doubt and the extra year of development has clearly done it a world of good.

It takes elements from a lot of games - the exploration of Tomb Raider, climbing of Prince of Persia/Assassin's Creed, combat from Gears of War and stealth from Splinter Cell, yet it amalgamates all of these elements perfectly into one package. You can't compare it to any other game.

Step into the ultimate playground. When you're faced with a challenge or puzzle, you can be assured that the correct way to overcome it is also the most fun solution.

A huge departure for Zelda and a proper arrival for Wii's motion controls. Link's latest is rule-breaking, dream-weaving, tech-loving, heart-soaring stuff. If it Wii's last hurrah, they don't come more impassioned than this.

This game is so close to flawless it's painful to the eye. It's so beautifully constructed, so immaculate, I can barely bring myself to divulge its details...Simply the most essential gaming experience of the year, the game the entire FPS genre has been building towards for the past decade, and one of the defining moments of the videogame medium as a whole. [PC Zone]

Halo 3 is the gaming equivalent of a Hollywood blockbuster. It's not going to revolutionise the genre - it's not meant to - it's meant to be great fun, which it is. Never lose sight of that. The visuals, guns, vehicles, enemies, set-pieces, musical score... they've all been cranked up to 11 to create an experience up there with the best sci-fi properties.

FIFA is quickly becoming the hardest franchise to review in the entirety of the video game galaxy. Basically, it's been making us look like mugs ever since FIFA 09.

Resident Evil 4 displays such extreme mastery of the videogame medium that it deserves far more than any review could give it, which essentially makes the thousands of sycophantic words we've just battered out redundant.

You'll look for inspiration for levels, mechanical dilemmas or puzzles in every corner of your life. And in your sleep. It will take over your conversations with fellow players. You will become obsessed. You have been warned.

Blizzard has done what every MMORPG should be trying to do - it's ticked all the right boxes and really tried to forge the link between the heart and the head in a hugely immersive virtual space. This is what creates the stories in your imagination. These aren't just battles, they're adventures. Now that's what role-playing should be all about. [PC Zone]

Quite possibly our game of the year. It really is every bit as good as we could have hoped for and every bit as good as the hype would have suggested. [PC Zone]

Coming back to our original conundrum, GTA IV has its flaws as a game, like the sometimes problematic auto-aim shooting or the massive difficulty jump when you get to the final ten missions. But as an all-round experience it's truly, hype aside, a standout experience of gaming in 2008.

Galaxy's real success is in its ability to surprise, which it does consistently from start to finish. Just when you think Nintendo's out of ideas you're blasted off to another world that's even crazier and more creative than the last.

Engaging, immersive, repulsive, beautiful and challenging on every level, all at the same time. The bar has been raised...An experience of this calibre only comes around every few years and should be played by as many people as possible.

From the moment you turn the game on and sit through the arty CGI intro, to the moment you chuck your first punch and see the game's incredible visuals, you can feel the amount love poured into making this game.

It's a tremendously detailed and authentic realisation of the Wild West with great stories, characters and inner workings.

Polished, sickening, satisfying and occasionally heart-testing, Dead Space 2 is undoubtedly the best horror adventure on Xbox 360 and PS3. It's the Resident Evil of this generation - and it'll leave you an emotional wreck...An action horror masterpiece.

Minish Cap is a miracle. It constantly thrills and surprises you and the difficulty is perfectly judged. There's an absolute mountain of bonuses to discover thanks to the Kinstone system and you can get lost for hours just doing that. There certainly hasn't been a better GBA game released all year.

The sensation is difficult to explain, but it's akin to abandoning the sensation of control itself, as if you're truly within the gameworld and every neuron twitch in your brain results in precisely the correct physical translation.

It's a belief in the character and, most importantly, a belief in itself that has seen the studio deliver one of the greatest Batman interpretations of all time. And you know what? Maybe even one of the best games ever.

All of which makes this a big step on from Uncharted 2 in terms of visuals, gameplay and performance - but its biggest achievement is that, barring minor lapses, the threads are brought together into a superbly cohesive whole.

If you're an Elder Scrolls veteran, you'll already know what you're in for. This is not the next evolutionary stage of the series: rather a loving refinement of what made Oblivion and the now-aged PC title Morrowind so special. It's those games with better voice acting, a slicker interface, a richer world and an improved story. It's also the most polished and user friendly games in the series, with smarter character progression and a gentler learning curve.

The greatest driving game ever. On any console, computer, or arcade cabinet, ever. Even with all the problems, nothing even comes close to matching the sheer adrenaline GT4 offers when you're chucking a 700bhp beast around one of the game's beautifully crafted courses. As a game, GT4 is staggeringly huge, looks and sounds amazing, and features so many cars you're unlikely to ever see them all. [JPN Import]

It's the new team-centred gameplay modes - the return of an old favourite particularly - and the introduction of driveable vehicles that make this such an exciting and important addition to the Unreal lineage...It offers just about all you could ever want in a first-person shooter - and just a smidge more. [PC Zone]

It's refreshing to find a game that's so strong in single-player mode - not that I've got anything against multi-play, you understand, it's just that a lot of software publishers are using the strength of their multi-player mode as an excuse for the weakness of their games in single-player mode. Age Of Empires, needless to say, triumphs in both departments. With the exception of "XCOM 3," this is the best game I've played in a year and a half. [PC Zone]

Guild Wars is all about the gaming experience and that experience is one of absolute pleasure from moment to moment. [PC Zone]

Graphically it's stunning to behold, geographically vast to explore and whereas the first two games in the series were typified by the anarchic rushes for armour, BF2 promotes and rewards altruism and teamwork like no other.

Impressively bumped-up visuals, more multiplayer carnage and a well-built video editor; this is the ultimate version of 2008's premier sandbox game. If you've got the specs to run it.

Loud, epic and incredibly polished, MW2 is this year's biggest must-have shooter.

A massive, brilliant sequel that one-ups the original in almost every way.

A smarter, more fun and accessible LittleBigPlanet that does everything better.

You could say it's all just a fancy game of hide and seek, but the tactical element off and online adds so much depth and tension that the concept becomes genius.

Still a classic, still an explosion of nostalgia. Ocarina of Time 3D is a blissful rediscovery for veterans and an unmissable opportunity for newcomers.

As complete a racing game as you could hope to play. All that's good about the previous Karts, distilled and mixed with a trillion ideas of its own. Excellent.

A bona-fide classic: a technological marvel that's as rewarding as it is beautiful. For the time being at least, it's the beating heart of the first-person shooter. [PC Zone]

With this effort, there's no doubt that Molyneux and his team have succeeded in surpassing their original efforts. Black & White 2 is a work of art, beautiful in both its stunning visuals and genius gameplay. [PC Zone]

Every bit as bowel-rupturingly tense and terrific as the Xbox version. Sneaking has never been so freaking fantastic. A supreme stealth master!

Jaw-dropping battle engine, Staggeringly deep yet intuitive strategy map, Fiendishly lifelike AI.

It's more inventive, and more entertaining, than "Doom." I know they've had long enough to get it right (but so have many others, who've tried and failed). [PC Zone]

Can it improve on last year's version? The answer is most definitely yes, but like any successful team, you're going to have to work hard to achieve results.

GoW II proves that you don't need £400-worth of technology to make a fantastic game, as Kratos' second outing is more intense and rewarding than anything we've played last- or current-gen.

It has the looks, it has the compelling level design, and it has the scary bits. Check, then: this is Resident Evil 4 all over again, but slightly better.

Gears of War 2 helps to change the perception of the 'angry space marine' shooter by thanks to a compelling story at its core. There are points in Gears of War 2's ridiculous and explosive Brumack set-pieces that you'll wonder how you'll ever be able to go back to the original game without being under-whelmed.

Mass Effect 2 has quality oozing from every facet of its makeup. If you're patient enough to hop from tactical combat to immersive role-playing without a blink, then you'll discover that Mass Effect 2 is a wonderfully engrossing quest that's deep yet suitably streamlined and incredibly cinematic.

More imaginative, more challenging, more fun... more of the (brilliant) same.

Ultimately, it's a price worth paying. As one of the most anticipated games of all time, Blizzard had a great deal on its shoulders with this. We're pleased to say it doesn't disappoint.

What you have here is the cleanest, best looking, smoothest playing, most tactically enjoyable version of the deepest and most addictive strategy game of all time.

A thrilling and brutal single-player campaign that's one of the series' best. But will you be blown away by multiplayer the fourth time around?

Football Manager 2011 is a complete triumph, and as satisfying as a last minute winner in the local derby.

A welcome return to the no nonsense do-or-die school of games. You have to battle for every inch, but around every corner there's something amazing!

Imaginative, challenging, hilarious and sometimes a bit exhausting, Portal 2 is one of 2011's most interesting, challenging blockbusters. Just make sure you take your sweet, sweet time with it - because you'll probably feel a hole in your head once it's done and dusted.

A more charismatic, tactical FIFA that's finally taking steps in a new direction.

Ni No Kuni is a miracle. Doused in character and constructed with depth, its first half hour is awe-inspiring yet the challenge can carry beyond the hundred hour mark.

Perhaps the finest game to strap on its space-trading boots since the seminal "Elite." It's better than "Freelancer," better than "EVE Online," better than the original "X: Beyond The Frontier," better than any number of Privateers, Battlecruisers, Freespaces and Frontiers. Best, best, best. Am I making this clear enough? [PC Zone]

With Turbine's long-standing MMORPG expertise powering proceedings and one of the most welcoming communities in gaming, LOTRO presents a stunning and evocative world of Tolkien magic to explore - if you're any kind of fan, it would seem pretty much an essential purchase.

In MC3 everything is real big. Customisation real big, vehicles real big, racing real big, online real big, adrenaline real big.

If there is any justice in the world Shogo will be looked back on as one of the best 3D games of its time. Personally speaking, apart from "Half-Life", Shogo is the best game I've played this year.

There's a mind-boggling amount of stuff to do.

One of the few games that has the power to engage your imagination with pretty pictures, then actually live up to your imaginings when you get your hands on it. Bring back the bloody internal docking next time and it'll probably be the first game in ZONE history to get 100 per cent. [PC Zone]

Fans of Grand Prix Legends will love it, fans of GTR will love it and we reckon it's just possible that a host of newcomers could also be taken in by the thrill of driving the car you spent your youth pining for. [PC Zone]

Now, however, it's been nailed: simultaneous turns, variable game speeds, the ability to join a game on the hop by taking over an AI opponent and game dynamics that leave you despising your best friend. Quite frankly, you needn't buy another game for the entirety of next year - Civ will suffice, and it gets deeper each time you play. [PC Zone]

The most immersive Metroid yet with the best console FPS setup we've ever used. But maybe the formula's been tinkered too much.

Final Fantasy XIII isn't just a game you merely enjoy. You fall in love with it. It's gorgeous worlds have you stopping to admire them in complete awe, while a graceful soundtrack massages your brain (despite the unfortunate replacement of the original Japanese theme with a song from Leona Lewis).

It's still not the revolutionary piece of software Mr. M lauded it to be, but Fable II finally sees Lionhead's original concept realised, and all round it's clearly the developer's best game to date.

Not without its issues, but they're so minor they don't stop it from being the best racing experience on Xbox 360. Or of the current generation.

Massively polished, hugely enjoyable single-player game that (finally) does the Batman license justice.

A seriously good, fat-free but surprisingly deep GTA experience - that you can play on the toilet.

An epic, over-sized gorefest unlike any other. Sorry EA, Kratos is still the king of brutal brawlers.

A beautiful, astoundingly deep - yet very familiar - Halo package. Thanks for the memories, Bungie.

This is the best Fable yet...It's entertaining, thoughtful and crucially, not entirely for RPG lovers - which could lead to the series capturing an entirely new audience of adventurers.

Story limitations and a few failed mission experiments cement our statement that it's not Assassin's Creed 3 - but with a lick of paint it would've come dangerously close.

The equivalent of the summer's biggest Oscar-winning blockbuster, it's breathtaking, and destined to become an adventure classic. Totally unmissable.

What's so captivating is FSW's constant assault on your senses - whether shaken by explosions or hanging on live-or-die decisions, you are always in the thick of it.

Imaginative and brilliant - exactly as every Legend Of Zelda game should be. The GBA-connectivity angle just makes things even more magical.

Battlefield 3 then, from a campaign perspective, delivers the goods and then some. It's not perfect, but it's bloody close... infinitely more impressive than Bad Company 2 and irrefutable proof that DICE have now firmly stepped into the hallowed ranks of the absolute top-tier developers. COD or not, this deserves a place in your collection - not to mention a place in your heart.

The presentation is also seriously top-drawer. You can see the standard of the graphics with your own eyes, but what you can't see is the triple-A voice-acting and the dirty, groove-laden soundtrack delivered by Amon Tobin. [PC Zone]

Infinity Ward wants screaming, smoke, flying bodies, chaos and you running around with goggle-eyes, jaw-hanging and tongue lolling, wondering where the next hail of bullets is going to come from. It doesn't want to make you feel cool, it wants to pulverise you. [PC Zone]

As an intelligent and masterful 3D beat 'em up experience, this is as pure as it gets. [JPN Import]

On its own, then, BioShock 2 is a brilliant, if not-particularly-brave shooter story. But as a complement to the exciting and iconic original, it's a predictable but technically excellent second chapter to an unmissable FPS pairing.

Unlike Lost and Damned which suffered from an overly familiar missions structure, the second 360 exclusive episode manages to rekindle the highs of GTA IV's greatest missions (we're thinking Four Leaf Clover) and in sheer absurdity leapfrogs them entirely.

The handling is superb, weighty and satisfying with every last handbrake turn. The crash damage and overall visual detail is of the highest calibre in games today, and there are so many events you'll be busy for hours. Codemasters got it right, this time.

A superb quest that doesn't rewrite the rules but delivers another engrossing Zelda adventure. If you own a DS, buy it.

Visually stunning high-strategy from the masters of the genre.

Little problems like this, however, barely even make a scratch on this beautifully fun, frantic, deep and deliberately tongue in cheek racer, which manages to deliver all the fundamentals of a world class karting game as well as throwing in a shed load of brilliant features and the odd innovation here and there.

Yes, its vulgar and obscene nature might rub some people the wrong way, but for many Bulletstorm will be a humorous, tongue-in-cheek romp that distinguishes itself from the other samey sci-fi or military shooters clogging up the genre. The game brings simple design concepts used in the infancy of the FPS to the modern day and garnishes it with all the current-generation trimmings.

It might look old-skool from the screenshots, but GP Legend totally flies. Races are so tight this is guaranteed to get your heart pumping.

We love this game for all the reasons a lot of people will hate it: the wacky characters, the 'holy grail' nature of the combat system to be mastered by only the very best players, of which we admit we are not worthy (yet).

This is a relentlessly explosive title that doesn't know the meaning of respite; one which laughs in the face of 'downtime'.

Taken as individual pieces, only Battlefield 3's regular multiplayer is really strong. The co-op and story are both perfectly well executed, but lack true greatness. So, that third elephant: is Battlefield 3 really better than Call of Duty? It's a matter of personal taste, but for us Battlefield 3's incredible multiplayer edges this ahead of it's accomplished rival.

Perhaps Snake Eater's greatest achievement for games in general is this: it makes it very clear that making an organic environment like a jungle is not merely a case of changing colours, textures and maps. It's a lush, chaotic place out there in the real, natural world, and computers are just at the very edge of starting to replicate what that's like. Snake Eater does it so much better than anyone else. [PSW]

The atmosphere of the castle is added to both by the superb sound and pacing of the game. The mellow speed of the game means that while there is the odd moment of button-hammering terror, most often you have time to sit back and rubberneck at the environments around you.

The option to use realistic damage will reward all that time spent in the single-player game nailing head shots too. Those of you with a Multitap will have great fun here. [PSW]

Certain hardcore gamers may look down on God of War: it's short, it's linear, it's showy and it's accessible. But it's also a towering achievement of game design and attention to detail that even manages to make recent hits like Devil May Cry 3 look rusty in places. [PSW]

The game oozes atmosphere, from the Russian propaganda blaring out of the loudspeakers to the eerily empty war-torn streets. [PSW]

A brilliant game whether you buy it for the single-player, the multiplayer or both. [PSW]

Grumpier gamers will find fodder to gnaw upon, but the fact remains that it's a prima donna of a game that more than succeeds in its attempts to scare and scintillate. Despite everything, I adore it - and strongly suspect you will too. [PC Zone]